Headhunters
by firerwolf
Summary: Before Emile joined Noble Team he had a very different job. He kicked alien butt behind enemy lines. This is the story of his final mission as a Headhunter. One-shot. Rated t for violence.


Headhunters

The entire operation had gone south so fast that Emile didn't even have time to really understand what had happened. He hung his head and sat down on a nearby rock to take a moment to think.

He and Karri had been set down on a small planet called Hartorn. It was a planet that hadn't been considered for human colonization as the soil and atmosphere were, overall, unhealthy for humans. It seemed the same was not true for the Covenant. They'd built a ship repair station on the planet.

The pair of Spartan-IIIs crawled on their bellies up to the top of the ridge. "What do you see?" Emile glanced back to be sure that nothing was trying to sneak up on them.

Karri peeked her head over the ridge, looking down toward the main generator station. "Damn valley is full of the little bastards." Grunts and jackals milled around in the valley, moving from task to task or circling on patrols.

"So then how do you want to do this?" Emile shifted so that he was lying on his back and had a better view of the hill below them.

"We need to place those charges, quietly, and get the hell out of here before the pelican arrives." Karri glanced over at her teammate. The duo had been working as a headhunting team since they had both been pulled from their original class for the special training.

"Where's the fun in that? I want to kill something." Emile gripped his rifle a bit tighter. He was always looking for something to destroy, and when it came to Covenant, he didn't bother holding back in his aggression.

"Fine, then you can push the button and blow them all to hell. Make sure this time you have a good one-liner, though." Karri glanced back over the ridge. She tossed the detonation device to Emile. "Here's the plan. You're playing kill everything on one side of the base while I rig the explosives. Try not to get yourself killed." Emile nodded and moved off to make his way to the opposite side of the Covenant camp.

From there the plan went south, fast. Emile engaged the enemy on the Northern edge of the camp, drawing the troops toward him. He darted between trees as a group of grunts fired on his position. He popped out just long enough to take shots at them, sending blue blood flying into the air as the rounds tore through the weaker armor of the small aliens. Soon jackals appeared behind them, shimmering shields up to protect them from the rounds. Emile tossed a grenade and the blast sent the jackals reeling back, giving Emile a clear shot at their slender, frail bodies. He was in the process of turning his attention to a group of grunts when a voice shouted over the radio.

"_I have several contacts inside of the generator station. What the hell is that thing_?" Karri's voice was strained and Emile could hear the deep, labored breaths.

"Karri, I'm coming to assist." Emile struck out, crushing a nearby grunt's skull with ease.

"_Negative, Emile. Charges are in place, all clear. I'm coming to you_." Karri's voice cut out and Emile turned to look toward the generators. He spotted the figure of his teammate racing out of the small door, but froze as he realized something was giving chase. A large tank-like alien burst through the door, sending it flying. The hunter brought up its large gun and aimed at the sprinting Spartan.

Two elite zealots moved out of the generator building and ran around the hunter, opening fire with their plasma rifles. The hunter fired and Karri dove out of the way. Emile moved forward past the grunts and jackals that ran to get out of the way of the higher classed aliens. He opened fire on the hunter, drawing its fire.

One of the elites holstered its plasma rifle and snapped an energy sword to life. It raced forward toward Emile, roaring a challenge. Emile slung his rifle over his back and drew out his combat knife. He sidestepped the elite's blade and grabbed its wrist. The elite struggled and tried to pull free. It took all of Emile's strength to hold on. Bullets pinged off the elite's shields as Karri opened fire on it. The elite was momentarily distracted. Emile struck out, stabbing his blade into the elite's neck. He stabbed its neck three more times before it finally fell over dead.

Emile grabbed up the fallen energy sword and raced toward the second elite. Before the second enemy could pull out its energy sword, Emile swung, cutting through the seven foot tall alien's chest and sending it sprawling back. To his surprise, the elite stayed on its feet, though it wavered a bit. Emile punched with his free hand, hitting the cut on the alien's chest. It flinched and knelt down a bit. With a bit of extra force, Emile jumped and landed on the elite's back, stabbing down and through its chest.

The body went limp and Emile stepped off it. "That's what you get, you damn Covie."

"We aren't done yet." Karri had turned her attention to the jackals that had started to return. Plasma fire streaked through the air toward them and the two struggled to dodge the shots.

Emile deactivated the sword and unslung his rifle, the bullets bounced off the jackal shields but kept them under cover enough that they couldn't fire. "Damn, we need to get out of here."

A noise filled the air and the headhunters turned, seeing the hunter once more as it charged its gun. "Run!" Emile turned and ran for it, but the hunter fired. Karri moved, knocking Emile to the side, but the shot hit half of her. The green plasma hit her armor. The light energy shield broke and the armor heated then melted under the shot. She hit the ground, left side black and charred, warped from the heat. Emile fired at the hunter, causing it to duck behind its shield.

Emile moved to Karri's side and tried to pick her up. Karri pushed him away. "No, go, that thing will follow if we both leave. Get out of the radius and blow this place to hell." The words were weak and Karri removed her helmet. She shoved the helmet toward her teammate. Blood dripped from her nose and mouth and she was already becoming pale. They both knew that she would never make it long enough for the pelican to show up.

Emile hesitated for a moment, but Karri pushed him away. She grabbed her rifle and fired at the hunter. Emile took one last look at her, absorbing the way she looked at that moment. Her face was splattered with her own blood, red hair matted and wet, her green eyes were focused fully on the hunter. He turned and ran, afraid to look back. He was leaving behind his partner, his other half. He didn't stop until he was far past the ridge. Once he was sure he was far away from the camp he activated the detonator. He turned back toward where he knew his teammate had fallen. "I never was good with one-liners." He hit the button and felt the explosion ripple through the ground. A cloud of fire and smoke rose up from the former camp. Emile was sure that Karri had taken down as many of the Covenant as she could while he got away.

#

Emile had made his way to the evac point after that and sat staring down at the SPI helmet in his hands. He stared at the demon face that his partner had carved into the faceplate. He'd always thought it was a nice touch. Something felt empty in him. Karri has been the other part of him, like his arms or legs. He had trouble seeing himself fighting without her by his side. Something seemed wrong about even thinking about the idea.

Memories flooded his mind as he stared into the vacant eyes of the helmet's carving. Memories of him and Karri during training, always winning against the other teams. The two of them staring up at the stars on one of their survival missions. He remembered all the times they argued and the way they remained teammates. He remembered the hypothetical conversation they had, the one he had wished didn't have to be that way.

Emile looked up as a shape crossed the moon above. Emile recognized it as the pelican. He stood and waved as it landed in the clearing. He regretfully moved toward the pelican alone. Hartorn shrank below them as they rose up into the air. Before the back hatch closed Emile saluted toward the smoking crater that was once the Covenant camp, toward Karri's grave.

#

Emile stared down at his EVA helmet as he made the last few scratches in it. The skull carving stared back at him. He'd made it out of that mission alive but the death of his partner had taken a toll. After having completed his treatment he was being reassigned to a new team. They called it Noble team. Emile slid his kukri back into its shoulder sheath. The skull was his tribute to his fallen half. He was going to originally do a demon face, similar to hers, to the helmet that he still kept tucked away in her personal affects. No, a skull was a proper tribute. A show that part of him had died with her on that night. From then on he would be death to the Covenant. Take revenge from them in any way that he could. He'd kill as many as he could before fate reunited him with Karri.

Emile looked up as a man entered the room. "I take it that you are Spartan-two-three-nine." Emile nodded. "I'm Commander Carter. Welcome to Noble team."

Emile slipped on his helmet. "Glad to be getting back to the action, sir." Carter nodded and motioned for Emile to follow. The two moved out of the room to join the rest of Noble team.


End file.
